Nortel CFO steps down

After a two-year run, Peter Currie will resign his post as chief financial officer of Nortel Networks, the company said today.

Currie had held various finance-related positions at Nortel since 1979 and served as its CFO from 1994 to 1997. He was named CFO again in January 2005, assuming the office on February 14, 2005.

“I believe that I have achieved at Nortel what I returned to accomplish,” Currie said in a statement issued today by the company. “We have transformed the finance organization, significantly strengthened internal controls, and improved the balance sheet.”

In a research note this morning, UBS Investment Research called the news “unexpected” and suggested it could signal acquisitions in Nortel’s near future. “We believe [Currie’s] departure is likely due to Nortel looking to be more aggressive in pursuing [acquisitions] given the likelihood that most restructuring initiatives and internal financial controls are likely in place,” UBS wrote. “We expect Nortel to continue focusing on bolstering its enterprise segment, particularly enterprise data, and quite likely enter the fast-growing IPTV segment. We also would not rule out the possibility of niche acquisitions in 4G.”

Currie’s appointment, by interim chief executive officer Bill Owens, came in the wake of a financial scandal that resulted in the termination of previous CEO Frank Dunn and other top executives. A series of financial restatements plagued the company for years.

Some analysts criticized the choice of Currie at the time, calling instead for an injection of new blood. An investigation of the company’s financial scandal concluded that Nortel’s accounting team relied too heavily on longtime veterans of the company such as former CFO Dunn, who joined Nortel in 1976.

But an infusion of fresh management talent would come several months following Currie’s appointment, after Nortel’s current CEO, Mike Zafirovski, came on board. The new CEO would make sweeping management changes but retain Currie as CFO.